Posted on by kimhaynesjohnson

My Retirement List: 11-20 of 50

I’m taking the week to write list poems of all the things I’ll do when I retire. They say we should never retire from something, but instead always to something. So I’ll retire to some work and some play, but I want to steer my own wheel and throw away the clock. Today is day two of five days that I’ll list ten things I’ll do when I am officially off contract for life.

First, a review of yesterday’s list:

  1. I’ll write into the day.
  2. I’ll visit the library twice a week to check out new books.
  3. I’ll read into the evening by the fire, dogs in my lap..
  4. I’ll shop at the farmer’s market for fresh fruits and vegetables.
  5. I’ll cook things fresh-grown and scrubbed clean.
  6. I’ll take morning walks with the dogs, strolling instead of hurrying.
  7. I’ll make pictures and put them on calendars and notecards.
  8. I’ll pick wildflowers.
  9. I’ll put the picked flowers in the flower press.
  10. I’ll make bookmarks with my pressed flowers.

And now for today’s list:

11. I’ll savor my coffee, linger longer before showering.

12. I’ll meet friends for lunch.

13. I’ll design patterned rag quilts.

14. I’ll cut flannel quilt squares and stitch them in rows.

15. I’ll go to sleep when it’s dark and awaken when it’s light.

16. I’ll wash my dishes by hand in warm water with fragrant dish soap and blow the bubbles.

17. I’ll bake fresh, healthy muffins with bananas and chia and flax seeds for breakfast.

18. I’ll volunteer to drive someone to a doctor’s visit each week because I understand the village we all need.

19. I’ll make a big pot of soup every few weeks to freeze and give to chemotherapy shut-ins.

20. I’ll pick my own apples in North Georgia.

What are your favorite things about retirement?

Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers at Slice of Life

11 Replies to “My Retirement List: 11-20 of 50”

  1. Kim, I loved reading down your list of what you will retire into. So inspiring. A favorite line” steer my own wheel and throw away the clock” because you included 2 round objects which show so much about your actions and feelings related to retiring. So many on your list will be on mine. Especially #15.

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  2. Kim,

    These lists tell me you’ll be busy when you retire. They remind me of what Kathryn Graham wrote about the phases of life in her autobiography. The last phase, she said, is in retirement when we serve others. I’m not sure I’m filling living up to that service, however, but you clearly have a plan to.

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  3. My favorite things ( believe it or not) are going back in to teach art or sub for a friend and get that pure energy, but also get the INSTANT realization of why I started my career in teaching. I went in to instill the love of learning. It’s an infectious energy. I’m not gonna lie I also love doing what I what I want to do (hike, family and travel, etc) it is right up there, too.

    NO MORE ADMIN and a gazillion responsibilities. . . .

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  4. My favorite things ( believe it or not) are going back in to teach art or sub for a friend and get that pure energy, but also get the INSTANT realization of why I started my career in teaching. I went in to instill the love of learning. It’s an infectious energy. I’m not gonna lie I also love doing what I what I want to do (hike, family and travel, etc) it is right up there, too.

    NO MORE ADMIN and a gazillion responsibilities. . . .

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  5. This is a wonderful and inspiring list! I have semi-retired but the demands of college teaching seem to fill many spare moments. The one thing I am doing for me is to go to the gym at least 5 times a week! I have never been this active before and feel fabulous!

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  6. I’ve been advised to not do anything for a year. I love your list because it has all the nothing things like walks and cooking and reading. I think when we retire we should write each other letters, actual letters on paper and mail them.

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    1. Let’s do it! Are you familiar with Gladys Taber? She and a good friend wrote back and forth like this and then published their letters in volumes. Her writing is beautiful and sensory and brings all the feels of the moment. She makes the ordinary extraordinary, and if I were becoming Gladys Taber as a letter writer with a friend, I would love the focus on appreciation that I would feel. Stillmeadow is the name of her farm.

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